Chicken with Peppers & Sausage

This is the kind of rustic Italian skillet dinner where everything tastes better because it cooks in the same pan. Sweet Italian sausage gets browned first, pricked to release its fat, and then that rendered sausage dripping becomes the cooking fat for the chicken breasts. All those spiced, porky flavors transfer straight into the meat.

While the sausage browns, red and yellow bell peppers cook separately with wedges of red onion in olive oil until fork-tender. Keeping the vegetables in their own pan means they soften without getting greasy from the sausage fat, and they hold their color instead of turning drab.

Everything comes together at the end with a splash of balsamic vinegar that cuts through the richness and ties the sweet peppers to the savory sausage. That acid hit at the finish is what keeps this dish from feeling heavy despite all the meat in the pan.

Kitchen Tips

• Prick the sausages several times with a fork before browning. This lets the fat render out so the casing crisps up instead of staying rubbery and greasy.
• Start the sausages in water, then let it evaporate before browning. This cooks them through gently so they don’t char on the outside while staying raw in the middle.
• Slice the sausage on a diagonal after browning. Angled cuts expose more surface area and look better on the plate than straight rounds.

Variations

• Use hot Italian sausage instead of sweet for a spicier version with more heat.
• Add a handful of sliced green olives when you combine everything for a briny, Mediterranean twist.
• Toss the whole mixture with cooked penne or rigatoni to turn this into a pasta dinner.